› added 8 months ago

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TIL that despite homosexual activity being punishable by death in the country, Iran allows gender reassignment surgery, and performs more of them than any country except Thailand. In 2005 they did 7 times as many as all of the EU combined.

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b6vYZ TIL that hurricanes cannot form within 300 miles of the equator, due to a lack of the Coriolis effect, which causes winds to curve to the right, in the Northern Hemisphere, and to the left, in the Southern Hemisphere, because of the Earth’s rotation.
ja7Q TIL Edgar Allan Poe wrote a novel in which a group of shipwrecked survivors draw lots in which the loser will be eaten, the boy who lost was named Richard Parker. 50 years later an English ship sank & the survivors drew lots, the losers name was Richard Parker.
PY49L TIL that in the UK there used to be tax exemption for lunch vouchers given out by employers. It was worth 15p and wasn't adjusted for inflation, ever. If it had kept with inflation since 1948 when the scheme started, it would be worth £5.58, which would be a pretty good lunch.
7re7O TIL that airplanes will perform a "fuel dump" if they need to land earlier than expected. This is because airplanes can take off with more weight than they can land with, and the fuel makes of 80% of the aircraft's weight at takeoff.
4kMJ6 TIL of Alberto Fujimori: a Japanese man that was president of Peru from 1990 to 2000. When elected, he proceeded to implement neoliberal reforms, carry out a self-coup, and dissolve congress to give himself extraordinary powers.